The Blue & White: Zeta Phi Beta Celebrates Tradition of Service

This past weekend, the Hyatt Regency O'Hare Hotel was invaded by the colors of royal blue and white as the sisterhood of the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority held the 81st Annual Regional Leadership Conference. With over 700 members in attendance from across seven states (Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin), it was a prelude to the national leadership conference that will be held this summer in Washington, D.C.

The conference, led by Great Lakes Regional Director Michelle Porter Norman, captured the essence of all that Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated embodies…to be “A Community Conscious, Action Oriented Organization.” The opening ceremony allowed guests, friends and family to get a peek into the traditional program of recognizing the respect and unity that brings together the international Greek letter Sororities and Fraternities known as the “Divine 9.”

Many bonds and lifelong relationships are formed and very few are broken as members take solemn oaths to preserve and honor the mission of each organization. Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated is deeply committed to honoring the mission that the five founding women members initiated on the campus of Howard University on January 16, 1920.

Fast forward to what the organization stands for today -- Scholarship, Service, Sisterhood and Finer Womanhood. Throughout the opening program, each leader stressed the importance of executing the organization's mission. Preparing for the Centennial 2020 celebration, International President Mary Breaux Wright is very focused on working with the regional leadership to energize members.

"When you find an organization, a group of women you feel attached to, you gravitate to them. It's still that final womanhood that you still have to represent in a certain way when I was growing up," said Wright.

Her role as International President allows her to work with over 800 chapters around the world and recently bringing on new Zeta Phi Beta Sorority chapters in London, Belgium and new territories in Africa. She shares her mutual respect and support for Great Lakes Regional Director Michelle Porter Norman.

A Chicago native, Michelle Porter Norman grew up on the South Side and recognized earlier as a student the importance of having positive role models.

"We grew up in one of the roughest communities in Chicago -- Englewood -- and within those walls at Lindbloom Technical High School, we had mentors, teachers and counselors who instilled in us that we have important roles when we graduate from high school. Sometimes, we were the first generation in our families going off to college. When we arrived on campus, we saw Black Greek letter organizations present," said Norman.

Throughout the evening, key speakers included Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Illinois State Director- Connie V. Pugh, Regional Chaplain Rev. W. Ann Bilbrew, National Pan-Hellenic Council of Chicago Joel Head, Central Region Syntakes of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Tiffany Hightower, Midwest Regional Director of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Dr. Mona Davenport, Honorable Judge Steven G. Watkins of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and Great Lakes Regional Director Daryl Parks of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated.

One of the highlights of the organization's continued dedication to community service was recognized by Awards Concepts which presented the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority with a $25,000 check. The sorority also received a special proclamation from the Village of Rosemont proclaiming April 23rd as Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Day.

With the Zeta Organizational Leadership Conference right around the corner, President Wright is looking forward to a solid and positive turnout. In her feisty, enthusiastic way, the lifetime member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority adds, "I want unity. I want them to feel that they joined a sorority that is for 'them.' I want them to put in leaders who are there for them, not promote their own careers, but leaders that are there for Zetas. Let us smile and be together-- that true sisterhood, that would be my aim in life!"

Originally published in The Chicago Defender | April 2015